Between Barack Obama’s first post-presidency visit to Chicago last week and his return tomorrow with Michelle to unveil plans for the future Obama Presidential Center, the Obama Foundation quietly dropped a Spotify playlist all about their hometown.
The Chicago playlist is the first release of an initiative in which the foundation asked people to share song picks that remind them of home, and as the annotated playlist at obama.org reveals, these 18 songs were submitted by current and former Chicagoans ranging from Mavis Staples to Dan Aykroyd to Stephanie Izard, as well as several former Obama campaign and Obama for America staffers.
Comedian Cameron Esposito opens with the inspired choice of JC Brooks & the Uptown Sound’s cover of Wilco’s “I Am Trying to Break Your Heart,” Nick Offerman namechecks his old Defiant Theatre pals with a pair of Tom Waits numbers, and Chance the Rapper is represented with “Blessings” (submitted by OFA press secretary Bill Burton) and his own pick, Kanye West’s “Family Business.” Check out the whole list below.